Fire drills, tornado drills - and now, add killer drills

Schools teaching active responses such as lockdowns and barricades, but aggressive steps controversial

Aug. 31, 2013

Mariemont Elementary kindergarten teacher Missy Fields prepares to attack Mariemont police Officer Ryan Lay, who was pretending to be an active shooter at the school. This exercise was part of new training for school staff provided by the local police departments. / The Community Press/Lisa Wakeland

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Be prepared

• The Cincinnati Police Department is hosting “preparedness” training, including the ALICE program, Sept. 26 and 27. This is the second session it’s held and is open to employees at all school districts.

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If an armed gunman comes into a classroom in Kenton County, Mariemont, Milford or dozens of other Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky schools, the staff – and soon the students – will be prepared.

Gone are the days of hiding in a closet, waiting for police. Now teachers and kids are being taught how to evacuate, when to lock down, how to barricade doors, and – as a last resort – how to distract or confront the attacker, such as by yelling or throwing books.

The adults, in some cases, are even being taught how to fight back.

“It’s a different way of looking at it now,” said Mariemont Elementary Principal Ericka Simmons whose staff received training earlier this month. “Not being a sitting target but instead moving and actively preventing the shooter or stranger from coming into our rooms.”

A growing number of school districts in the region and around the country are adopting the proactive, and sometimes controversial, training protocol called ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate).

Mariemont trained earlier this month. Kenton County school district was trained in July and has been teaching students this week.

“With everything going on in the schools, I think we need to be proactive about it,” said Julie Martin, a kindergarten teacher at River Ridge Elementary in the Kenton County School District. “I feel more empowered with the training our district has given us.”

The Covington, Beechwood, Ludlow and Erlanger-Elsmere districts also went through ALICE training in July.

‘NEWTOWN CHANGED EVERYTHING’

This year marks a new era for school safety. In the the wake of the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., schools throughout the country are re-evaluating security policies, safety drills and protocol. Mass shootings have now joined tornadoes, fires and earthquakes on many schools’ list of disaster drills.

“Newtown changed everything,” said Steve Hutton, superintendent of the Beechwood, Ky., school district. “The ALICE training came along at the right time. It’s interesting to see some of the changes that were made from the old lockdowns. No one ever thought about barricades. No one thought about rally points. The ALICE framework is more proactive.”

The ALICE protocol, which is also offered for businesses, hospitals and other sites, teaches a proactive response – a shift from the passive lockdowns that schools had been using even since the 1999 Columbine shooting.

“What we learned from Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook was that the method we were using for a lockdown – we’d lock the doors and huddle at one side of the room – wasn’t enough,” said Jessica Dykes, spokeswoman for the Kenton County school district.

ALICE was created in 2001 by Texas law enforcement officer Greg Crane and his wife, Lisa, an elementary school principal, to address that gap. It’s not the only school-shooter training out there, but it’s gotten the most attention from districts in this region looking to shore up their protocols.

It’s also drawn controversy. Critics argue the “counter” segment of ALICE may actually put children in the line of fire. Ken Trump, president of the Cleveland-based National School Safety and Security Services, is a vocal opponent. In his blog, he calls the tactics “highly questionable” and urges parents to get informed on what their children are being taught.

Local districts, however, said they have notified parents and worked with police to tailor the training to meet the needs – and comfort levels – of their schools.

SCHOOLS WEIGH OPTIONS

Kenton County tailored “age appropriate” scripts for teachers to use with students this week.

“Then we’d barricade the door. We’d build a fort in front of the door,” said River Ridge Elementary teacher Kathleen Thelen, explaining the lockdown part of the drill to her second-grade class. “Maybe we would move the tables. I might need a helper.”

Then she explained “counter.”

“Your teacher might say ‘counter and distract.’ That means you can yell and you can throw things.”

“Cool!” yelled several students.

“Can you throw a chair?” one boy asked. (The answer was yes, although throwing things is a last resort.)

Some schools are holding off on teaching the “counter” part of the drill.

Mother of Mercy High School spokeswoman Jenny Kroner-Jackson said the school, located in Westwood, philosophically agrees with ALICE, but at this time they are only actively using the Alert, Lockdown and Inform portions of the program.

She said they are starting to learn more about the Counter and Escape aspects of ALICE, and want to make sure the Cincinnati Police Department is on board with the plan.

“We are transitioning toward the Counter part with our monthly drills, which include lockdown drills, acknowledging that if we counter aggressively it will reduce casualties,” she said.

Only a few local school districts have started training students, including Milford and Kenton County. Clermont Northeastern will train students next week.

Kenton County officials said they’re not teaching children to attack a gunman.

“In no way shape or form are you telling kids to fight an intruder,” said Dykes, the spokeswoman. “We’re telling them to run, lock down, help barricade a room.”

The bottom line is the Kenton County schools wants to arm students with education,” she said.

District officials sent a letter to parents and posted a video on its website about the drills.

Jan Kane, whose son attends River Ridge, is appreciative.

“God forbid it (a school shooting) happens, but if it does I want the school to be ready,” she said.

“ I like the fact that the school system is being proactive and that they’re concerned about our children’s safety.”

LIST OF SCHOOLS USING SAFETY PROGRAMS

Many school districts in Greater Cincinnati are conducting safety training, many of them using the ALICE method. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Escape, but other methods are used, too. Here’s a sampling:

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy: The school’s safety committee has studied the latest in safety procedures. Staff is trained in fire, tornado and lockdown drills. Administrators are trained in ALICE, and by the first of the year teachers will be trained as well.

Cincinnati Public Schools: Cincinnati Public Schools has trained central office staff and will finish training employees in September.

Clermont Northeastern Schools: High School Principal John Eckert, a certified ALICE trainer, goes over the program with other building principals. “We’ll do the lockdown drills and all the things we’ve done in the past,” said CNE Superintendent Ralph Shell. “ALICE training is kind of the new kid on the block.” Students are expected to receive the safety training sometime next week.

Deer Park Community City Schools: School safety plans are reviewed each year. All doors are locked on buildings and doors with buzzers have one-way cameras. The district goes through all drills – fire, tornado and lockdown – with students at the beginning of the year, then practice throughout the year.

Fairfield City Schools: Fairfield began the ALICE program in 2009, said David Foster, director of support service. Every staff member in grades 7-12 receives the training.

Finneytown Local School District: A security team meets and discusses safety and security needs and training. Students attend ALICE assemblies by grade level and participate in drills.

Forest Hills Local School District: The district began researching ALICE last year and has begun implementing it this school year; each school’s safety team is being trained in the ALICE program, said Philip Sinkovich, coordinator of community outreach and student support for the district.

“This is a new approach as far as (responding to) an intruder in the building,” he said.

Goshen Local Schools: Officials attended ALICE and active shooting training sponsored by the state of Ohio and attorney general.

“We have adopted training measures from both sets that our staff can take to be able to protect students,” said Darrell Edwards, Goshen superintendent. “We call it enhanced lockdown procedures.”

Edwards said all teachers were trained in May, but there are no plans to train students.

Indian Hill Exempted Village Schools: Indian Hill Superintendent Mark Miles said students and staff regularly participate in safety drills, and safety procedures are reviewed at the beginning of each academic year.

After a review of safety procedures last year with the Indian Hill Rangers, the district began to implement the ALICE program. Miles said the district also installed security cameras this year.

Loveland City School District: Loveland has conducted ALICE training for two years with the Loveland Police Department. Some staff members received specialized training in Texas and are certified to conduct training with their colleagues. School bus and van drivers also are trained.

McAuley High School: McAuley will begin using the ALICE program later this year, largely via homeroom teachers. There will be practical drills as well.

Moeller High School: “We have locked off all doors to the main school building, put a security guard in place, a new security monitoring system with 44 cameras installed and are exploring ways that we can implement ALICE training with our faculty and staff,” said Principal Blaine Collison.

Mother of Mercy High School: Principal Dave Mueller said the school at this time is only actively using the Alert, Lockdown and Inform portions of the ALICE program.

“We are transitioning toward the Counter part with our monthly drills, which include lockdown drills, acknowledging that if we counter aggressively it will reduce casualties.”

Mercy updated its emergency manuals at the start of the school year and already distributed it to faculty and staff.

Mount Healthy City School District: Its newly hired interim business manager is reviewing the district’s safety plans and training records. Superintendent Lori Handler says the district has not made a decision whether to pursue ALICE or further investigate training offered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Northwest Local School District: Northwest will offer the Ohio Attorney General’s training to all staff at an in-service day in October. The district will invite teams from St. Bernard, St. Ignatius, St. James, St. John, Our Lady of Grace and La Salle and McAuley to the training as well. Students will receive training in advisories at the secondary level or directions from teachers at the primary level. The district has drills as well to make sure students know what to do.

Princeton City Schools: The district offers ALICE training.

St. Vincent Ferrer: The Kenwood school practices three drills per year – fire, tornado and lockdown. Each procedure is first explained to students, then they perform a drill. They already practiced it once this year, said Principal Mark Henderson. All doors are locked, and visitors, including parents, have to be buzzed into the school office. Visitors have to sign in and wear a name badge.

Seton High School: Spokeswoman Christy Schutte said the school plans to implement the ALICE program. She said Seton’s Principal and CEO Donna Brigger, along with the school’s safety and security director Tony Brumfield, will attend an ALICE training session in late September. Afterward they will coordinate training for the rest of the faculty and staff, and students.

Summit Country Day School: Students and staff are trained in fire, tornado and shelter-in-place emergencies. Faculty has also been trained in traditional lockdown procedures and ALICE.

Sycamore Schools: Sycamore has partnered with the Blue Ash and Montgomery police departments to perform ALICE training the last two years. Training is conducted for teachers, staff and students annually. Blue Ash Police also train bus drivers.

West Clermont Local School District: West Clermont Director of Operations G. Edward Dyer said the district uses EDU-SAFE, a professional service that provides interactive learning to educate students and staff in safety initiatives. “We think it is a very effective program because it allows communication and interaction from all parties,” said Dyer.

Winton Woods City School District: ALICE has been used for a couple years. A simulation for students took place during advisories last year. Plans are to do that again this year. Staff and students in 7-12 get ALICE training; K-6, staff gets training.

Wyoming City Schools: Wyoming is partnering with Wyoming Police Chief Gary Baldauf to update its Emergency Management Handbook and will be instituting a modified version of ALICE. It is also modifying its lockdown procedures and evacuation methods. Wyoming installed 11 new security cameras in temporary Middle School Modular Complex and all five buildings automatically lock and require a keyless entry/buzzing system to enter.

Mason City Schools: Mason has used ALICE since the 2011-12 school year, and it trains all staff and students in grades 7-12 on it every year.